In a private speech shortly after leaving her post as Secretary of State, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton reportedly asserted that China has “a right to assert themselves” with regard to the South China Sea, a region in which the communist government has usurped the sovereign territory of six countries.

The Chinese government has sent folk singer Song Zuying to Fiery Cross Reef, a disputed territory in the South China Sea, to perform patriotic songs and begin a tour of the region titled “The People’s Army Advances.”

China is looking far and wide for allies in support of its invasion and colonization of South China Sea territories belonging to other nations. Last week, it received its first statement of support from the African nation of Gambia, and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is now claiming that Laos and Brunei also support China’s claims.

A Chinese defense ministry spokesman warned the United States to “be careful” in the South China Sea following declarations from American Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work that the U.S. would not respect a unilaterally imposed exclusion zone in the disputed territory.

The governments of Vietnam, the Philippines, and Japan have all condemned China for landing a plane on an artificial island in the South China Sea, constructed in what is widely regarded as sovereign Vietnamese territory. China rejects international claims in the sea and has begun constructing military facilities in the Spratly Islands.

A patriotic organization opposed to Chinese imperialism in the Philippines has made a voyage to the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, where China has begun constructing numerous military facilities in violation of international law.

Chinese state media outlet the People’s Daily released a report this week claiming that artificial island construction and the usurpation of international waters in the South China Sea would improve “marine meteorological monitoring, warning, forecasting, prediction and scientific research,” and benefit all neighboring countries with claims in the region.